........when he crashed his truck into an 18 wheeler. Luckily only major injury only to vehicles, not to the drivers involved.

Quote:

The police report states that Ratliff, a four-time Pro Bowler and team captain, failed three field sobriety tests at the scene and refused to provide a breath specimen. A search warrant was issued for a blood sample at 2:55 a.m., almost two and a half hours after the police arrived at the scene of the accident.

No one died when Jay Ratliff allegedly had too much to drink Tuesday morning, took the wheel of his F-150 and sideswiped an 18-wheeler on Highway 114, about 16 miles down the same road from where Jerry Brown’s life ended and Josh Brent’s changed forever.

Quote:

At that point Barch decided to give him the three-part Standardized Field Sobriety Test. Ratliff failed all three parts and was placed under arrest. He disputed the results of the test.

“After arrest Ratliff began complaining of prior injuries that could have affected his ability to perform the Walk and Turn and One Leg Stand portions” of the test, Barch wrote. “I neglected to ask Ratliff prior to the test about any pre-existing conditions, but he also neglected to inform me of such.”

Quote:

Ratliff told officers he was “chillin’ with a homegirl” in Arlington and was on his way to his home in Southlake. The area where the accident occurred is apparently not on the way between those two points, but Ratliff said he was following his truck’s GPS.

Ok, now that's pretty darn cool of him to do. I think more teams should do that, and probably do a better job of getting the word out.

I read that most teams do offer a similar service but players who use it are often looked down upon. Would you really want your boss knowing that you're going out and drinking to the point that you can't drive 2-3 times a week?

They need to make it anonymous if they want players to use it more, although I'm not sure it would make much difference as it seems to be more of a point of pride rather than not being able to pay for taxis.

I read that most teams do offer a similar service but players who use it are often looked down upon. Would you really want your boss knowing that you're going out and drinking to the point that you can't drive 2-3 times a week?

They need to make it anonymous if they want players to use it more, although I'm not sure it would make much difference as it seems to be more of a point of pride rather than not being able to pay for taxis.

I've read and heard numerous times that the player union or league have a service like that that IS anonymous. It's available 24 hr/day and is free. Every time there is a DWI report, this service is mentioned along with with the ones that teams may have arranged. Drunks just usually don't make good decisions.

I read that most teams do offer a similar service but players who use it are often looked down upon. Would you really want your boss knowing that you're going out and drinking to the point that you can't drive 2-3 times a week?

They need to make it anonymous if they want players to use it more, although I'm not sure it would make much difference as it seems to be more of a point of pride rather than not being able to pay for taxis.

Three years ago, the NFLPA demanded that they take over a safe driver program from the NFL for just that reason. And for those players worried about their expensive cars, they send two drivers, one to carry the player, the other to follow in the player's car....both drivers bonded.

Quote:

NFL Players Association's safe ride program back in the spotlight. It was revamped three years ago after concerns that enough players weren't using it.

Union spokesman Carl Francis said the program is a strong point of emphasis, and every player's membership card includes the contact information. And CEO John Glavin of Florida-based Corporate Security Solutions Inc., which runs the program, said he is happy with how the union gets the word out on the program.

He also stressed the confidentiality of the program, saying the company doesn't even tell the union when players call for rides.

I've read and heard numerous times that the player union or league have a service like that that IS anonymous. It's available 24 hr/day and is free. Every time there is a DWI report, this service is mentioned along with with the ones that teams may have arranged. Drunks just usually don't make good decisions.

The NFLPA has a program. It is supposedly anonymous but not free - something like $90/hr. Then individual teams also have programs which vary in the details.

Three years ago, the NFLPA demanded that they take over a safe driver program from the NFL for just that reason. And for those players worried about their expensive cars, they send two drivers, one to carry the player, the other to follow in the player's car....both drivers bonded.

Well legally the people serving them have a part in it but outside of that who would you leave the end choice too ?

Yeah, but there's a profit motive in conflict with limiting drinks. And there are ways around a limit.

There's also the "eye test" that fails people. I could have 20 drinks in me and strangers would not nearly know how drunk I was by watching me for short time. The cops and bystanders in this case initially thought Ratliff was "okay".